This invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus. The invention has application, for example, to a self-service financial terminal or automated teller machine (ATM) including a feeding mechanism arranged to deliver a statement or receipt to an exit port for collection by a bank customer.
In U.K. patent application No. 2145399A, for example, there is disclosed an automated teller machine which can be used in well-known manner to dispense currency notes to a user of the machine, in response to the user inserting a customer identifying card into the machine and entering certain data upon one or more keyboards associated with the machine, and which as part of a cash dispensing transaction delivers a receipt slip to a receipt outlet slot for collection by the user. The receipt slip is produced by printing on the leading portion of a continuous form and then separating this portion from the remainder of the form, following which the receipt slip is delivered to the receipt outlet slot by a sheet feeding mechanism. The sheet feeding mechanism includes rotating roller means which grip and apply tension to the continuous form during the printing and separating operations, and which assist in feeding the separated receipt slip to the receipt outlet port.
Problems have been experienced with known sheet feeding mechanisms, such as that referred to above, in which rotating roller means engage a sheet while the sheet is held against movement, in that there is a tendency for the roller means to generate static electricity which may have an adverse effect on associated electronic components. Another problem experienced with known sheet feeding mechanisms in which a printing operation is carried out on a sheet while it is engaged by rotating roller means is that lines of printing on the sheet may be distorted due to the pulling effect on the sheet. A further problem experienced with known sheet feeding mechanisms is that, if the length of the sheets to be fed by a sheet feeding mechanism is changed, it may be difficult to modify the mechanism so that sheets are fed in a correct manner to an associated outlet, particularly in the case of sheets of short length.